It’s been more than a month since Alex Trebek died, ending one of the most celebrated TV careers in the history of the medium, and sending millions of television trivia fans into a quiet period of mourning (either in the form of a question, or not). Now, Jeopardy! producers have announced that Trebek’s 35-plus-year tenure on the series will formally end next week, when the final five episodes he recorded of the series will air, from January 4 to January 8. The run of episodes will include a message the host—who first announced his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in 2019, and continued to film during his fight with the disease—recorded about the “season of giving” that’ll air at the top of the Monday episode, and a final tribute to him that will run on the final Friday installment.
Meanwhile, pieces continue to fall into place for the show’s continued survival, with series champion Ken Jennings guest-hosting his first episode on Monday, January 11. Deadline reports that Jennings recently went out of his way on Twitter to issue an apology for past jokes that were “unartful and insensitive,” which is a), nice, and b), presumably part of the run-up to him stepping into the shoes of a man who commanded an immeasurably comforting TV presence (and occasional capacity for a hearty, well-intentioned dunk on the nerds). Jennings is still being listed as a “guest host” for his run on the series, but it’s not hard to see his upcoming appearances as a trial run for a more permanent position with the show.
In the meantime, we’ll all have to say our final goodbyes to Trebek, the man synonymous with the show’s remarkably consistent run over the last three-plus decades on the air. It’s hard to imagine a TV landscape that doesn’t feature him genially correcting trivia addicts, and seeing him issue that final Final Jeopardy! next Friday is going to be hard to watch without getting misty eyes or a lump in our throats.
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I got a lump in my throat just reading the headline.
I was never a regular viewer of Jeopardy, but I’m middle-aged and Alex Trebek has been (a benevolent, positive) part of popular culture for as long as I can remember. I will watch his final episode and probably cry.
I grew up watching Jeopardy and all the other game shows with my grandmother in the 80’s, when it was either late morning or late afternoon on network TV. Trebek was a staple of my life for decades, much like Letterman with his late night show(s). I still remember, as seven year old Rogue, only kinda paying attention to Jeopardy one day, and the Final Jeopardy question came up as something relating to Greek mythology. Granted, that is all I had been reading during the summer, but before the music even started I said “Who are Jason and the Argonauts?” and my grandmother just laughed.Guess who bested the three contestants on national TV. His is a voice I will always hear in my head, just like Carson and Letterman. RIP, and may people always answer you in the form of a question in the afterlife.
There won’t be an official host for a while; they’re going through a rotation starting with Ken
Basically trying out several people to see who sticks with audiences. Honestly wouldn’t wish the job on anyone, those are big shoes to fill
That’s a generous view. I suspect they’ve already appointed Jennings, but they’re going through the motions to make it look like they haven’t.Then again, maybe I’ve just seen too many university faculty and admin application processes that were just smoke and mirrors.
‘Then again, maybe I’ve just seen too many university faculty and admin application processes that were just smoke and mirrors.’MLA JOBS WIKI: Rumor is there’s an internal candidate for the Jeopardy! hosting position
The first clue was this part of the posting:Desired QualificationsHolds the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. game show Jeopardy! Holds the record for the highest average correct responses per game in Jeopardy!Holds the record for highest-earning game show contestant of all timeName rhymes with Ben Kennings
It’s extremely difficult to be the guy after the guy. Much better to be the guy after the guy after the guy. Or maybe the guy after the rotation of guest hosts.*Person
It is perhaps telling that in the month-plus since that announcement they haven’t made any statement about who the additional guest hosts are or how long Jennings will be filling in. They clearly want Jennings to take over and the other guest hosts, if any ever appear, are just in case he falls on his face.
Not that telling…So. Cal is having a tiny bit of a crisis and all. I’m not sure any filming was done at all in December.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/virus-surge-swamping-hospitals-prompts-indefinite-lockdown-74963434
LeVar Burton or no one, dammit! Ken Jennings isn’t “host” material. I think Burton would serve Trebek’s memory better than anyone else. In fact, I’d even prefer Burton Guster over Jennings, fer cryin’ out loud. C’mon, son!
Even Trebek wasn’t Trebek when he started.(And while Burton might make a great interim host, I feel they want someone who can go another 37 seasons to be the permanent replacement)
True, but Trebek had “something.” TV presence, I guess you’d call it. Jennings just doesn’t have that, at least, not in my estimation. But, he could turn out to be a pretty good host anyway. Time will tell.
Dule Hill would be fun.
Feels weird for Jeopardy to be without him.
Agreed. It won’t be the same, that’s for sure.
Fuck cancer.
Cancer is your own cells not dividing properly. It is not an outside contagion. So when you say “fuck cancer”, you are saying “fuck me”.
Fuck cancer.
So yeah this really still sucks.
Will definitely need a lot of potent potables to make it through these last episodes.
As everyone knows, the most heartfelt apologies are the ones made when someone’s in danger of losing an expensive hosting gig.
Right wing assholes are currently trying to cancel Jennings for reminding them that almost every actor whose work they love fundamentally stands against everything they believe. “You get Kelsey Grammar and that’s it.” I didn’t think I could want him as host any more, but here we are.
I think people are much more upset about the various ableist things he’s said..
I missed this part, what did he say?
I don’t know if he’s made splashes elsewhere, but I know that on Twitter (I had been following him, but I deactivated my account on election day), he has made a lot of anti-Trump, pro-Democratic tweets.
Didn’t Trebek’s Wheel counterpart, Pat Sajak, once get a few acting roles, as himself? If so, I think he deserves some credit. Not everyone would have the stomach to play that fucker.
The odd thing is that Jennings was announced as the first in a series of guest hosts yet no other guest host candidates have been announced, while Jennings has already taped his episodes.
I’m wondering if they’ve scrapped the idea. I hope so: supposedly Dane Cook was going to be one of the guest hosts, which would have been a disaster and suggests an unusual lack of Jeopardy! succession planning
I certainly hope so. I don’t recall Cook ever having been formally announced though, Pretty sure it was just another rumor.
In news that will shock no one, we had a pretty hard time this year. Small, family owned business that couldn’t move to online/Zoom format effectively. We’re hanging in there, and slowly rebuilding, but it is slow. Our hopes are pinned on the vaccine helping to return things to normalcy. Anyway, my husband and I are also huge Jeopardy fans so losing Alex this year was just one more piece of not unexpected but still horrible news. We kept watching but I cried at the end of each episode when they put up the tribute to him.Christmas was never going to be a big deal this year, we just couldn’t afford it. Small gift cards, and I splurged on $10 worth of $1 and $2 scratchers. I was looking at this tiny pile when literally out of nowhere I got this inspiration to make a game out of Christmas, add fun and sparkle for no extra money and do our own tribute to Mr. Trebek. I wrote riddles that included two words from book titles (we have a ton of books and bookshelves)- each riddle led to a book that held a gift card or scratch off ticket and the next clue. I didn’t tell my husband or son anything, just handed them cards that had a poem giving the rules of the game. They LOVED it- had a blast trying to figure out the clues, it made Christmas Eve so much fun, and my son even won $17 on one of the scratch offs. So thank you, Alex, even after you were gone you inspired us to have fun, and think, and play clever games. We will miss you so much.
Alex Faust, play-by-play for The L.A. Kings was rumored to be in the running. I sure hope so. I hate his play-by-play.
I’m sure I’ll get shit for it, but I honestly think Janeane Garafolo would make a great host. She’s smart, pretty funny, and damn good at being condescending of dumb people. Plus, she could probably use a check.